Otis Brawley at Health Journalism 2012

Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer, American Cancer Society, was the keynote speaker at Health Journalism 2012, the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Brawley, responsible for promoting the goals of cancer prevention, early detection and quality treatment, champions efforts to decrease smoking, improve diet and provide the critical support cancer patients need. He guides efforts to enhance and focus the research program, upgrade the Society's advocacy capacity, and concentrate community cancer control efforts in areas where they will be most effective. He is a leader in the Society's work to eliminate disparities in access to quality cancer care.

• Category

  News & Politics

[71Nellie]

Finally some truth! Thank you Dr. Brawley! I wish more Doctors were like you.

[vetsaway]

There has been over 5 presidents that have tryed to stop people from learning about cannabis oil curing cancer because it can be self administered without a doctor.The oil can be produced by most.The pot can be grown by the population for their own health.You can smoke pot until the cows come home but you can cure your own cancers by injesting the oil from the cannabis.You can cure your organs while they are inside of you.There are no side affects other than being hungry.

[vetsaway]

Europe let Joanna Budwig cure several hundred people before they turned on her.Rick simpson cure a couple hundred people before they turned on him.Joanna used flax seed oil and i used it for 2 yrs.It tasted bad.I found out about this stuff called cannabis oil.I don't think the pot heads knew what this stuff could really do for your health.Smoking a joint or eating a cookie with pot in it won't do the trick.When a person injest's the oil from the cannabis it will cure cancer.

[lovetheskinyourin]

its so corrupt that the man who has a cure for cancer Dr Burzynski, has been hounded relentlessly by the FDA and government, they tried to bankrupt him, discredit him, steal his cure and even JAIL him. they have cost him millions defending himself. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

[deloperez]

When any doctor gives me advice, I wonder 4 things:

1) is this advice influenced by my degree of insurance coverage (or lack thereof)?

2) is this advice affected by greed?

3) is this advice based on good science, or an underfunded lack of good data?

4) is this the advice they would give their friends & family?

It's a sad commentary when I must wonder if my doctor is ethical enough to do what is right for me even if it goes against his professional & financial interest.

[ljtish]

How refreshing to hear the real story of what happens in our health(CARE?) system. I mean, don't we all already know this? Educate yourself. Live a healthful life, feed your mind, body and soul good things. Turn off the t.v. go for a walk in the woods. Wake up! "Death is an imminent part of life". If people cannot accept this, maybe they will also believe whatever anyone tells them without question. Use your intuition, it's a built-in feature that comes standard with every body. Thank you Dr. B

[moreonthis]

Oh, and fee-for-service and not for-outcome helps push that cost curve up, especially in for-profit health systems with low oversight.

[moreonthis]

gets cut in half... forces health systems to inflate costs, then they get used to the cost, and this cycle repeats. We could be cost effective, but this, ineffective risk sharing, and marginal improvements in technology keep pushing the costs up.

[moreonthis]

@tobynsaunders The US does treat it like a right. The trouble comes when the bill comes and federal programs only pay a portion. This